Means for operating the doors of hopper-bottom cars.



O PATENTED AUG. 25, ms. W. s. ATWOOD & F. DITGHPIELD, MEANS FOROPERATING THE DOORS 0F HOPPER BOTTOM CARS.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 13, 1908.

Wifnuonzo unrrnn STATES; PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM-STEPHEN:ATWOOD, or

wEs'ruoUNr, ANl) FRANK DITCHFIELD, or MONTREAL,

. QUEBEC, CANADA.

mums FOR oPERa'rn' G'rBE- noons or HOPPER-BOTTOM cans.

ins-emp re Sp'ecifieation'of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 25, 1908.

a icaaon filed February 13, 11908. Serial No. 415,725.

To all whom it coiw'erh:

. -Be it known that we,-W1L1'.rAiu STEPHEN city .A'rwoon, of Westmoun-t,Province. of Quebec, Canada, and FRANK DITCHFIELD, of the j of Montreal,Province of Quebec, Can ads), have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Means for Operating the Doors of Hopper-BottomOars; andwe do hereby declare that the following is a full,

clear,' 'a nd exact descriptionof the same. 3 Our lnvention has for' itsobject to provide means whereby greater ower can be exerted .to openthe-door for t e purpose of over-' com'mgits resistance when held closedby frost or other extraneous causes.

The-invention may be said, briefiy, to consistof acompression link and atension mem ber flexibly connecting such-link to a device 7 adapted to,when manually operated for the purpose of closing the door, take .up thetension'member and bring the'compression link into engagement with suchdevice in order that upon the reverse action of thesaid devicesufficient compression can be exerted through the link, outwardly uponthe door, to loosen thelatter from its seat even if it is stuck, thetension member then allowing it to fallto' its full open position.

For :full comprehension, however, of our invention reference must be hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this s ecification, inwhich similar reference 0 aracters indicate .the same parts, and whereinFigure 1 is a plan view of a portion of the underside of a car fittedwith our invention;

and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken on line- A AFig.1 Fig. 3 is a per' spective view of the quadrant'and compressioulink. Y

The body I) of the car, the hopper bottoma, and door (1' are of wellknown construction and as theyform no part of our invention we will notdescribe them.

Specifically stated our invention comprises a compression link gpivotedas at h to the door and having its free end connected by a chain is to aquadrant m and furnished with a pair of lateral pin projections or studsn. s

The quadrant isformed on opposite sides,

' fat its pivot point, with trunnions 0 and p journaled in bearings 7'mounted on the un' derside of the car body, the trunnion p having asquare axial opening toallow of the consional nection of the usualoperating shaft, a portion whereof is indicated at 8, while the body ofthis quadrant is slottedat right angles to and across the pivot point,as at t, to accommodate -the.link. Each side of one end of this .slotted.portion (which is also one end of the curved, portion of the quadrant)has a hooked lug u and a shoulder Q) adapted to receive between them oneof the pin projections.

' or studs 1, the chain being of just sufficient length to cause thisengagement to take place and the link to assume a position within theslot t and below the pivot point of the quadrant, when such chain iswound on the quadrant.

When the operating shaft is rotated in the direction indicated in Fig.2, the chain is wound on the curved portion of the quadrant,

which is recessed to accommodate it, and the pins or studs n are drawnover the shoulders and seated in the recessesbetween the latter and thehooked lugs. When in this position the link lies within the quadrant andbeneath the center "of rotation thereof and consequently tends to retainthe quadrant against rotation in the direction required to displace itto allow the door to open. When the door .is either closed or open thislink acts as a tension member through the medium of which the door ishung from the quadrant.

, Toopen the door the quadrant is rotated in the reverse direction tothat indicated,

thereby causing the pin projections or studs n to be first lifted abovethe center of rota tion and then borne-upon by the hooked lugs, thusplacing the link in compression, sufficient power being in this mannermade available to start the door. What we claim is as follows:

1. The combination with a hopper door,

- of a compression link connected to the door,

a tension member connected to such link and'a manually operated deviceadapted to at different times take up and pay out the said tensionmember,- and means within the a chain connected to the link, and aquadrant having the chain connected thereto and such quadrant presentingstructural features adapted to engage and retain the link during thetime the chain is Wound thereon, the said structural features beingfurther adapted to exert compression through the link and upon the door.

The combination with a hopper door, of a compression link having lateralpins or studs at one end and pivotally connected at its other end to thedoor, a chain connected tothe free end of such' link, a qnadrant formedwith a slot extending inwardly across 15 the pivot point to accommodatethe I, link, one end of the slotted .portion' being formed at each sidewith a shoulder and hooked lug and the opposite end of the quadranthaving the chain connected thereto.

In testimony whereof, We have signed our names to this specification, inthe presence of the two subscribing Witnesses.

I WILLIAM STEPHEN ATWGOD FRANKDITCHFIELD YVitnesses \VrLLI'AM P. MCEEAT,F ner) J. SEARS.

